WHO WE ARE:

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, an independent, non-partisan and multi-national project that works with state and non-state actors to improve Muslim-West relations.  In this capacity, he directs projects that aim to heal conflict between Islamic and Western communities by developing youth leadership, empowering women, and engaging Islamic legal scholars in addressing the implications of contemporary Islamic governance. In 1997, he founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), the first Muslim organization committed to bringing American Muslims and non-Muslims together through programs in academia, policy, current affairs, and culture.  As Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque located twelve blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, he preaches a message of understanding between people of all creeds.  Additionally, Imam Feisal sits on the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of New York and serves as an advisor to the Interfaith Center of New York.

Imam Feisal has appeared regularly at the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum (Davos). He has been interviewed by and quoted in leading print media, including BBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Frontline, and Foreign Policy. His publications include the books, Islam: A Search for Meaning, Islam: A Sacred Law (What every Muslim Should Know About the Shariah), and What's Right With Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West, which the Christian Science Monitor rated among its five best books of 2004; as well as articles such as “The Ideals We Share” (Newsweek, July 31, 2007) and “The End of Barbarism? The Phenomenon of Torture and the Search for the Common Good” (with Rev. Dr. William Schulz in Pursuing the Global Common Good, 2007).

Born in Kuwait and educated in England, Egypt, and Malaysia, Imam Feisal holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Science in Plasma Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. He speaks English, Arabic and Malay.

John S. Bennett – Co-founder and Executive Director of the Cordoba Initiative. He was previously founding Executive Director of the Garrison Institute, whose mission is to apply the wisdom of the world’s great contemplative traditions to issues of civil society. He also serves as vice chair of the board of trustees of Naropa University, America’s premiere institution of contemplative education.

In 2001, Bennett retired from his position as vice president of the Aspen Institute.  While in that position, he helped rebuild the relationship between the Institute and the Aspen community and greatly increased the Institute’s activities and programs in its Aspen home.  In doing so, Bennett pioneered new ways to bring the Institute’s tradition of enlightened civil dialogue to bear on significant issues facing individual lives.  He brought to Aspen a variety of new community programs, including seminars on Shakespeare, wilderness, the crosscurrents between music and philosophy, and an acclaimed education program, the High School Great Ideas Seminar: The Good Life and the Good Society; and most of these remain active and successful today.  He also conceived the idea and acted as the organizing point person for the Aspen Institute’s 50th Anniversary Symposium, an event which convened a diverse group of Nobel prize winners, heads of state, and other world leaders from the fields of business, religion, art and academia to explore globalization and its effects on humanity.

In 1999, Bennett completed his fourth term as Mayor of Aspen, Colorado.  During his four terms in office, he focused on critical issues of building & preserving community – the challenge of maintaining the character, values & livability of a small city under enormous economic pressure to grow and change.

Bennett, a graduate of Andover and Yale University, worked to control suburban sprawl, build affordable housing, preserve the environment, support the arts & humanities, and create an innovative transportation system offering alternatives to the single occupant automobile.  Collectively, all of his efforts were aimed at improving the quality of life of Aspen valley residents.  As mayor, Bennett presided over a $40 million budget, which produced a surplus each year he was in office.  Aspen Magazine wrote of Mayor Bennett, “He has brought civility to city government and championed long-term regional planning, gathering the valley’s mayors for the first time…  His mark lies heavily upon Aspen, and his vision will guide her into the next century.”

Courtney Erwin is Chief of Staff and Director of Programs at the Cordoba Initiative, where she assists the Chairman, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, in the day to day operations and strategic management of the Cordoba Initiative and its programs, specifically its Shariah Index Project and political work in Washington, DC.  Prior to joining the Cordoba Initiative, Courtney worked at the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington as their Coordinator for Religious Freedom. Before that, she advocated on behalf of political and religious asylees at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle, WA, and assisted in human rights and public interest litigation at the Public Interest Law Group.  

Courtney received her B.S. in Foreign Service and a certificate, with honors, in Muslim–Christian Understanding from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service; her M.A. in Islamic Studies with a specialization in human rights and modern Islamic legal reform from McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies, where she was an Institute Fellow; and her J.D. in international law from Seattle University School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Seattle Journal for Social Justice and graduated magna cum laude.  She is licensed to practice law in the state of Washington and in federal court.

Josh Martin is Program Associate and Writing and Research Coordinator at the Cordoba Initiative and ASMA Society, a position that he has held close to a year.  As coordinator, he manages speaking and writing engagements for Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in addition to providing back-end research for Cordoba-ASMA programming. Additionally, he provides support for all Cordoba and ASMA operations, including conference planning, strategic development, media relations, and project management. In addition to his work at Cordoba Initiative, Josh has interned at both the United Nations Alliance of Civilization and the office of Massachusetts Congresswoman Kay Khan.

Josh is founder of The Lebanon Project, a student-led service, peace, and education venture in partnership with Lebanese NGOs and student groups.  Complementary to his work on The Lebanon Project, he contributes to numerous activist organizations advocating Middle Eastern solutions and has been recognized extensively for his efforts in bringing NYU’s student body together around community development. Prior to these endeavors, Josh lived in the Middle East for two years, working on various volunteer initiatives.

Josh is a frequent keynote speaker on college and university campuses, including NYU and Johns Hopkins University. Josh speaks Hebrew, Arabic and French and is currently learning Farsi. He holds a degree in Middle Eastern Economic Development from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.